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Robert Savoie recall, Chippewa County, Michigan (2015)
| Chippewa County Sheriff recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2015 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws Sheriff recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Robert Savoie in Chippewa County, Michigan, from his position as Sheriff was launched in April 2015. Emil Mattson, the person behind the recall effort, revoked the recall petition before the scheduled hearing on April 14, 2015. Election law allows Mattson to refile the petition at any time.[1][2]
Sheriff Savoie was accused of abusing his power and using public funds to pay for his personal legal fees. Savoie responded by saying these accusations were unsubstantiated and false.[1]
Background
In November 2012, Robert Savoie (R) was the incumbent in the race for the office of sheriff, which position has a four-year term, and he defeated Emil Mattson (D). Savoie received 11,995 votes, while Mattson received 3,355. Following the election, Mattson sued Savoie in court for slander. Mattson lost the case and was ordered to pay $28,000 in legal fees.[3]
Recall supporters
Mattson proposed the recall campaign, accusing Savoie of abusing his power and using public funds to pay for his own personal legal fees.[3]
Recall opponents
Response by Robert Savoie
Savoie responded to the recall petition, saying, "This is nothing more than a disgruntled opponent who suffered a humiliating and embarrassing defeat in his run for sheriff. Anyone who is capable of writing three lines and putting a stamp on an envelope can mail an application for a recall petition to Lansing. The real challenge is gaining approval at a clarity hearing, obtaining enough signatures and then convincing enough voters there was any wrongdoing."[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
The number of valid signatures required to force a recall election was equal to 25 percent of the number of persons that voted in the last preceding election for the office of governor of Michigan in Chippewa County. The number of valid signatures required in Savoie's case was 2,170. Signatures for a sheriff recall, the process for which is run on the state level, must be submitted within 60 days after a hearing to approve the recall petition language for circulation. In this case, the hearing for the recall petition was scheduled for April 14, 2015. Before the hearing, however, Emil Mattson revoked the recall petition. If the recall petition had been approved for circulation, petitioners would have needed to submit signatures by July 7, 2015.[3]
See also
External links
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Robert + Savoie + recall"
Footnotes
